What Makes A Classic Cartoon "Classic?"

[Jeff Harris]

Forgive me if there's already a thread like this around these parts. My search proved otherwise, but unless a similar thread exists, please move it to the proper location.

Something has been perplexing me for a while. While I'm cool with the whole classic animation movement of the internet, I have to ask one serious question.

Exactly what makes a classic cartoon "classic?" Different people have different standards as what makes a particular short or series classic. I know everybody has their favorites. I know I have mine. Some shorts people put on a pedestal while others have their own zeniths in classic cartoons. For example, many of "us" were thrilled as hell with the choices Warner Bros. distributed in the first Looney Tunes DVD collection, but others, I'll call them "they," were disappointed that some of their favorites weren't included. Personally speaking, I thought "What's Opera, Doc!" was a very pretty cartoon. A little overrated especially compared to many of Bugs and Elmer's earlier shorts, but pretty nonetheless, and yet some folks consider it one of the greatest animated classics ever made. Same deal with "Feed The Kitty," which was also a cute little cartoon that's, more or less, overrated in some folks' opinions.

Everybody have their opinons about what makes a cartoon "classic." Some folks see shorts like Rocky and Bullwinkle and Huckleberry Hound as classics while others see shows like the original Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, or Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero as classics. Some see shows like Scooby-Doo, Where Are You or Thundarr The Barberian as classic while others see Swat Kats, Batman: The Animated Series, or Men in Black: The Animated Series in that light. Then there are folks who feel shows like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo or The Brothers Flub as classics, but we call these folks "stupid." :D Just kidding.

But in all seriousness, what makes a cartoon "classic?"

[tedcassidy]

Well, my opinion of what makes a cartoon a "classic" is pretty much personal opinion. The older cartoons that I consider classics, are the ones that I remember loving as a little kid. They found a place in my heart way back when, and anybody could tell me that they think they're stupid now, and I just wouldn't care. It's all about the memories with the old cartoons. The new cartoons that I really like are based more on what I would consider to be a combination of good story telling, and good visual presentation. Timing is extremely important in telling the story, whether it's a comedic moment, or a tragic one. An action scene, or a tender scene. A great cartoon is just like a great live action movie from this stand point, and a great story teller knows how to deliver the dialogue, and the animation so that it pulls you in to the story and doesn't let you go until the credits roll. If you loose interest along the way, or if you find yourself distracted, and want to do something else, then it's definately not a classic to you.......